Militarism
Compared to other countries around Europe, the Ottoman Empire was very weak militarily. The Ottoman Empire had an army of about 600,000 troops split into 38 different divisions, the army as a whole was “of an unknown quality” (Woodword 4). In 1911-1913, The Ottoman Empire was forced to implement major reformations in its military after the traumatic surrender of many territories in Africa and Europe. To aid in this reform, the Ottomans called upon Germany for assistance. The Ottomans gave German officers the duty to oversee the military’s changes. The first wave of German officers arrived towards the end of 1913 (Trumpener 343). With Germany as an ally, the Ottoman Empire presented itself as no longer a weak force, but one not to be reckoned with.